Published: Saturday, August 17, 2013 at 3:59 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, August 17, 2013 at 3:59 p.m.

The first day of classes at the University of North Carolina Wilmington was still days away, but on Saturday, campus bicycle racks were already filling up.

Brand-new mountain bikes and banana-handled cruisers shared space with clunkier yard sale finds. No matter what style students choose, biking is one of the most popular modes of transportation at UNCW. But the ease of two-wheeled traveling comes with a few problems: bike maintenance, bike theft and bike removal.

The bike removal process, a three-day period that takes place about two weeks before classes begin, has been in place for years, said UNCW police's Capt. Chris Padgett. It's a way for police to make campus a little prettier – a bike that's sat through summer rainstorms is guaranteed to be covered in rust – and to discourage bike theft, which Padgett said was the top crime at UNCW.

This year, police spent Aug. 5-7 collecting what Padgett estimates was about 300 bikes. Bikes in front of academic buildings and in Seahawk Landing, Seahawk Village and Seahawk Crossing are picked up if they're damaged or missing parts, and bikes in all other residential areas are picked up regardless of condition, according to campus parking and transportation rules. Police keep collected bikes at the station for 90 days, and after that, they're donated to the Boys and Girls Home of Lake Waccamaw, Padgett said.

Police email students before the collection begins, telling them to pick up an identification badge – a piece of engineering tape, Padgett said – if they want their bike to stay safe. Students are also required to register their bikes with the police department when they come to campus, and detectives will check those records to see if they can call owners of bikes they've picked up, Padgett said.

“If you've got a Honda Accord, and you're driving back to Maryland, you're not going to pay $100 to ship a bike that cost $50,” Padgett said.

About a third of the bikes usually get reclaimed, Padgett said. The students picking them are likely people who use their bike on a regular basis, but just didn't know about the removal process, said students Bethany White and Hector Hernandez-Lopez. Both of them bike around campus regularly and have managed to keep their bikes out of the picked-up pile.

Both White and Hernandez-Lopez are transfer students, and they didn't know about the removal process until friends clued them in. So they can see how freshmen living in dorms – especially those who flew in from out of state, White points out – would leave their bikes on campus over the summer without a second thought.

The sheer number of bikes on campus suggests that's happening more frequently, Padgett said. So the police department has made its removal process a twice-a-year affair, picking up bikes after the fall semester ends, too. They're also looking into adding information to student orientation that's designed to make students consider whether they really need a bike. Oftentimes, Padgett said, students falsely envision themselves as future champions of the Tour de France.

“They'll come here, they'll ride them for three days,” he said, “and they'll never ride them again.”

<p>The first day of classes at the University of North Carolina Wilmington was still days away, but on Saturday, campus bicycle racks were already filling up.</p><p>Brand-new mountain bikes and banana-handled cruisers shared space with clunkier yard sale finds. No matter what style students choose, biking is one of the most popular modes of transportation at <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic71"><b>UNCW</b></a>. But the ease of two-wheeled traveling comes with a few problems: bike maintenance, bike theft and bike removal.</p><p>That's right, UNCW students: When summer break rolls around, roll your bike inside. Otherwise, campus police will take it away.</p><p>The bike removal process, a three-day period that takes place about two weeks before classes begin, has been in place for years, said UNCW police's Capt. Chris Padgett. It's a way for police to make campus a little prettier – a bike that's sat through summer rainstorms is guaranteed to be covered in rust – and to discourage bike theft, which Padgett said was the top crime at UNCW.</p><p>This year, police spent Aug. 5-7 collecting what Padgett estimates was about 300 bikes. Bikes in front of academic buildings and in Seahawk Landing, Seahawk Village and Seahawk Crossing are picked up if they're damaged or missing parts, and bikes in all other residential areas are picked up regardless of condition, according to campus parking and transportation rules. Police keep collected bikes at the station for 90 days, and after that, they're donated to the Boys and Girls Home of Lake Waccamaw, Padgett said. </p><p>Police email students before the collection begins, telling them to pick up an identification badge – a piece of engineering tape, Padgett said – if they want their bike to stay safe. Students are also required to register their bikes with the police department when they come to campus, and detectives will check those records to see if they can call owners of bikes they've picked up, Padgett said.</p><p>But often, the bike removal process turns into a bike removal service. It makes sense, Padgett said.</p><p>“If you've got a Honda Accord, and you're driving back to Maryland, you're not going to pay $100 to ship a bike that cost $50,” Padgett said. </p><p>About a third of the bikes usually get reclaimed, Padgett said. The students picking them are likely people who use their bike on a regular basis, but just didn't know about the removal process, said students Bethany White and Hector Hernandez-Lopez. Both of them bike around campus regularly and have managed to keep their bikes out of the picked-up pile.</p><p>Both White and Hernandez-Lopez are transfer students, and they didn't know about the removal process until friends clued them in. So they can see how freshmen living in dorms – especially those who flew in from out of state, White points out – would leave their bikes on campus over the summer without a second thought.</p><p>The sheer number of bikes on campus suggests that's happening more frequently, Padgett said. So the police department has made its removal process a twice-a-year affair, picking up bikes after the fall semester ends, too. They're also looking into adding information to student orientation that's designed to make students consider whether they really need a bike. Oftentimes, Padgett said, students falsely envision themselves as future champions of the Tour de France.</p><p>“They'll come here, they'll ride them for three days,” he said, “and they'll never ride them again.”</p><p><i></p><p>Pressley Baird: 343-2328</i></p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @PressleyBaird</p>